Catts with twisted, mis shaped leaves

[otis 226]

Hi guys,
Anyone have any experience with twisted and bent leaves on their catts like these. I see no other signs of a problem. I dread a virual infection, but no discoloration, just some mis shaped foilage. One of these plants is very valuable to me. Any help is most appreciated.
Best,
Tony

[plantloverlisa]

Hi Tony, I have a Ctt. Hazel Boyd 'Elizabeth' that does the same thing, and all the Hazel Boyd's I have seen in person do the same thing. I assumed it was genetic. Who is that Catt.?

[janet_a]

yes--my Lc. Waianae Blaze does this--to the point that it even has had a couple totally warped sheaths (at least i think that's what they were) that never developed and a leaf last summer that was so twisted it broke off when i moved the plant.

however, other of the leaves are fine, even to the point of one of the new pbulbs this summer going bifoliate.

[cable]

Maybe the plant dried out too much while the leaves were forming? I think of Catts as being OK with drying out, though...

[otis 226]

Thanks for the reassurances, guys. The large plant is Blc Green Devil #2, (strange name for a plant with huge orange blooms!) The other is my C. loddigesii var coerulea ‘Blue Sky’ x self . That is the one that has me worried, as it just doesn't look to be thriving since it finished blooming. Probably has something to do with being a bifoliate, but the twisted leaves had me concerned. I have it outdoors where it gets rain and some dappled sun hanging from a pindo palm, so I guess I'll just hope that a few more months outdoors will bring her around. It's the bluest catt I've ever seen.
Cheers,
Tony

[Brooke]

Otis is it possible the first leaf was caught on something as it emerged. On occasion I don't notice a new growth until it gets hung up on something and it never straightens out. It is a gorgeous bloom but if my memory is correct, loddigesii doesn't grow until it's next blooming season.

The second one just looks like an old I'm ready to die leaf. They get really ugly as they lose their moisture and get ready to yellow and fall off.

Brooke

[otis 226]

Hi Brooke,
Thanks for answering. The affected foilage was like this when I got these plants about 6-8 weeks ago. Some have suggested it could have been dry conditions as the leaves were forming that could cause this, but I doubt that, as I believe they were raised in a very humid greenhouse in South FL. At any rate, I was more concerned with the possibility of a viral thing or some other disease process. I think the loddegsii is a pretty fragile plant to begin with and I'm hoping that being outdoors hanging from my little palm tree increases the chance of good health for next bloom season. Time will tell. As someone mentioned, Cattleyas aren't the lovliest of plants when not in bloom, but I'm still fascinated with 'em. I really want to get into more mini sp. like the lovely species phals you tempt us all with, but not ordering online makes coming across those kind of limited for me. I guess there's alway the Redlands show next spring!
Best,
Tony

[Brooke]

Since cattleyas are my favorite orchid I don't think they are ugly out of bloom. I always have a few blooming while their benchmates rest.

Redlands would be a great place to find species Phals but don't be afraid to order on line. If I couldn't order over the 'net I would be limited to orchids I can get from my grocery store.

Brooke

[otis 226]

Brooke, I'm really not afraid to order online, only my wallet is
I actually order many things online, but always look for free shipping deals, which are very rare with plants. I know that the price of shipping is usually inclued when the shipping is 'free'. Its just a thing with me. And also it tends to keep my compulsive need to get everhthing on my W.L. in a few months in check.
Cattleyas are also my favorite orchids, but besides their interesting growth patterns, I believe they wouldn't be kept by many people if they didn't bloom! I think some orchids have UGLY blooms, (not catts, of course), and some plants are much more attractive than others...like a mottled leaf Phal or Paph.
I'm really happy that there are quite a few orchids that don't 'float my boat', (mostly the rare, very expensive ones that have very strange blooms, and the cool, cloud forest varieties, that I couldn't keep even if I wanted to).
The great thing about 'chids is that there are so many,there are always something for every taste, and of course tastes do change...I really disliked vandaceous plants when I first saw the full sized vandas, but I really like the minis very much and they like FL a lot, so there you go.
I'm alread 'saving my allowance' for Redlands 2012!
Cheers,
Tony
was this off topic or what?

[plantloverlisa]

Hi Tony, here is a picture of my Hazel Boyd. You can see how leaves twist on the end. This is what I thought you were talking about. As I said before all of the Hazel Boyd's I have seen looked like this.

[otis 226]

Originally Posted by plantloverlisa

Hi Tony, here is a picture of my Hazel Boyd. You can see how leaves twist on the end. This is what I thought you were talking about. As I said before all of the Hazel Boyd's I have seen looked like this.

I see what you mean. Kinda like what mine are experiencing. The big Blc Green Devil #2 was actually a freebie, that the greenhouse mgr. literally ripped off the bench where it was growing, (it had long before moved out of its pot!), and handed it to me saying here you go work with this! It's been growing new roots since I potted it in very coarse lava rock, since it was essentially bare root where it was growing, (using a wooden greenhouse bench for its 'tree'!) As long as I start to see some growth on the loddigesii I'll be happy, but Brooke, who I'm sure knows, said it may be in a rest phase after blooming. I'll just keep watching and hoping.
Best,
Tony

[11Orchid126]

The leaves look very light in color, as if they're getting a great deal of sun. Often when a plant is getting too much light the leaves try to turn away. How much light is (are) the plant (s) getting?

[otis 226]

Originally Posted by 11Orchid126

The leaves look very light in color, as if they're getting a great deal of sun. Often when a plant is getting too much light the leaves try to turn away. How much light is (are) the plant (s) getting?

Actually, I've only had these catts for 2 months or a bit less. All the leaves on them were there when I got them, and the colors were the same as they are now. The big Green Devil gets about 1 hr of morning sun then bright light the rest of the day. The loddigesii gets dapled sun hanging from a small palm tree for about 6 hrs. but no direct full sun at all.

[rcb]

Otis, I have one Cattleya type plant that does this as well.

It's flowers have never shown any sign of virus, it is a good grower and reliable bloomer.

I've always just assumed it was due to a complicated genetic background, but never gave it too much thought.

[plucker]

I have a few cats that do that too. Never affected anything other than the leaves. I always put it down to genetics.

[jerrymeola]

The leaf growth is the result of stress. When you said the grower ripped it off the bench, reminded me of many I have.

Plants get ignored in commercial greenhouses. That plant was not re-potted for years. The roots in the pot get bad and the plant grows outside the pot. New growth puts out new roots but the leaves supported by the old roots have nothing for water or food. Eventually they need to be cut off and removed. If you do not do it, the plant will discard the leaves when it feels comfortable to do it.

As long as you have new roots developing the plant will do well long term.